More Articles

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban attacked a U.S. Consulate in western Afghanistan with car bombs
and guns yesterday, killing at least four Afghans but failing to enter the compound or hurt any
Americans.

Within hours of the assault in Herat, the U.S. temporarily evacuated many of its consular
personnel to the embassy in Kabul, 400 miles to the east.

Herat lies near Afghanistan’s border with Iran and is considered one of the safer cities in the
country, with a strong Iranian influence.

In a phone call, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said his group was responsibility for the
assault.

An interpreter and three members of the Afghan security forces were killed, said U.S. State
Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf.

Seven militants, including two drivers of explosives-laden vehicles, also died, said Gen.
Rahmatullah Safi, Herat province’s chief of police.

At least 17 people were wounded, said Herat hospital official Sayednaim Alemi.

The attack began about 6 a.m. when militants in an SUV and a van set off their explosives while
others on foot fired on Afghan security forces guarding the consulate, Safi said.

He said the militants were unable to breach the compound, where Americans live and work.

Harf said the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades and that the compound’s front gate was
extensively damaged in one of the bombings.

Robert Hilton, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, said, “All consulate personnel are
safe and accounted for.” Most of the staff members were relocated to the capital temporarily, but
some essential personnel stayed in Herat, he said.